Amazing, Because It Is
by RJ Lewis the II
Summary: He was falling, and all that I could do was watch and hope he was a cat. See profile for author note.
1. Snow Angels

**NEW AUTHOR'S NOTE AS OF 3/8/08- Alright, so I've had a few people emailing me and reviewing, telling me how I should continue this. So, I figured, what the hell might as well. Only thing is I ask that you review, otherwise I'll leave the story for good. I love to write, but not just for myself.**

**I'm going to be revising all the early chapters all and so that it has a bit better flow, and have my friend beta read it for me possibly. Things should be back to normal in a few weeks with some new chapters in the works. Thanks to everyone who's still with me right now. **

**Summary: **I knew him before he was a cold hearted bastard. I knew him back when murdering someone wasn't an everyday occurrence for him. I was there when he was like any other kid, trying to make it on his own in a place where now one cared. And I was there when Richard B. Riddick finally broke, and all I could do was watch.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except for my own personal characters. Anything you recognize from the movies are not mine. Abe is mine and I seriously doubt that you don't have enough creativity to create your own character, so please don't borrow mine.

**Dedication: **To my friends who introduced me to Pitch Black almost three years ago. I would seriously be a sad person without you two.

**Author's Note: **Mkay. I'm kinda at a loss where to start the next chapter for my other story, so I started looking around at the different fandoms. I used to read Riddick fics all the time, but it was more like a phase I go through than anything. But, since I have nothing else to do, I figured why not just jump in and write something else. I'm totally making this up as I go along, so please bear with me. I have no idea when I'll be updating, so you've been warned ahead of time. I'll try to update this and my Band of Brothers story on the same day. Anyways! Moving onwards from my ranting. Review and all that good stuff.

**Prologue**

**Snow Angels**

Richard Riddick calmly stuffed his freezing hands into his coat pocket as he walked along the deserted side walk. It was surprisingly cold for only the beginning of November and many people had been caught unaware by the abnormal weather. Nearly everyone was inside their homes keeping out of the freezing temperatures. Some stragglers could be seen walking briskly in the cold as they covered as much bare skin with coats and mittens as they could. Store front windows were frosted in the corners, making them look like those someone would have seen on an old Christmas card from Ancient Earth.

The streets were coated in a thick layer of snow from the past few days of the light falling of frozen water. The sidewalks were piled high with the cold, wet snow at the corners where the plows had left the snow for people to traipse through them with difficulty. Many just avoided the outside world altogether, staying inside their warm homes with the fireplaces roaring and the hot cocoa stirring on the stove.

However, for Richard it was like any other day. Another day he was on his own, fending for himself. It had been that way for as long as he could remember. Richard had never known any of his family. He had stayed within the prison like walls of an orphanage until the age of eight. When he had finally grown tired of the plain walls and strict women, he'd made a quick escape for the outside world. It had not been nearly as hard as he had first though, but Riddick had soon learned that the escapement had been the easy part.

Living on the streets at a young age did things to a kid. You soon learned there was no one that you could trust besides yourself. Adults were cruel and hating, staring down at you as you sat on the side walk begging for spare change. They did not care what happened to kids that lived on the streets anymore than they cared for the rats that infested the city sewers. As far as they knew, the kids had brought the rough street life upon themselves. Maybe they had done horrible things to be unloved by their families or done as Riddick had and left the "caring establishments" that took them in, adults never cared enough to ask. But the street kids knew that the adults knew nothing of their hardships. Nothing of their pain or suffering.

Unlike normal kids, they did not have families to go home to. No warm blankets on their beds during the freezing nights. No hot food other than the scrapes that some cooks gave away. No soft hearted mothers to soothe their nightmares. No one left to hug them, or kiss their boo-boo. They fended for themselves because no one else would or cared enough to help. All they had were the clothes on their back and the flicker of hope in their heart at the smell of warm food.

Riddick looked hungrily through a frosted window as a baker pulled warm bread from a large oven. The third sun in the sky was starting to set and darkness was quickly coming over the city, along with even colder temperatures. Riddick could almost smell the bread in the cold, and his stomach gave a loud growl. He looked down and silently kicked himself for not eating in days. The last bit of food he had managed to scrounge had only been the leftovers of a coffee café, a half eaten biscuit and small swallow of freezing cold coffee. He searched his pockets quickly for change and was not surprised to find nothing but lint in the confines of his jeans.

It was a rare day when any street kid would have spare change.

People had become greedier over the years. They refused to part with their money when ever they could help it. That resulted in people living on the streets, not just kids, to resort to other methods of getting money. Ways that were sometimes frowned upon and not always legal. But when faced with the decision of not eating for another few days, doing something illegal was the least of a kid's worries.

Riddick looked around the street searching for someone. Anyone who looked like they had any amount of money hidden somewhere on their person was considered the perfect target. He noticed an old man walking slowly towards him, a cane in hand, but immediately dismissed the idea. Riddick was hungry, but not nearly hungry enough to rob an old man. Even he still had some standards.

His green eyes darted around the near empty street and were surprisingly pleased to see a young woman walking towards him. She had a small black purse draped over one arm and didn't seem to be paying much attention to her surroundings as she muttered to herself hurriedly. Riddick quickly ducked back towards the door of the bakery and leaned against the wall. As the woman passed by, Riddick walked out and knocked into her with a small amount of momentum. The two tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap of near frozen limbs.

Quickly, Riddick got to his feet and started to apologize profusely. He held out a fingerless gloved hand in attempts to be polite but was ignored. The lady looked at him warily and stumbled away from him slightly frightened. She gathered his bags from the frozen ground and started walking away without a word with a quick pace.

"Sorry, about that ma'am!" Riddick called after to the lady as she made her way down the side walk hastily. He lifted an arm and waved at her back with a grin on his face. He watched as the lady rounded a corner out of side and was soon out of sight.

Riddick gave a laugh at the lady and looked at the wallet he had managed to snag from the lady's purse. He unsnapped it and whistled at its contents. The next few days would be filled with actual good food that would possibly save him from starvation.

Bless that kind hearted woman.

"How did you do that?" a small voice asked from behind Riddick as he continued to count the currency.

He whipped around quickly, afraid to be caught red handed by either an officer or simply a Good Samaritan walking down the street that would be willing to turn him in to the authorities. To Riddick's relief it was neither a cop or adult that had questioned his methods. Instead it was a young blond headed girl, around the age of five or six he guessed, who stood a few feet down the street. A confused look was splashed across her dirty but innocent face.

A quick glance at the little girl's appearance told Riddick she was just another abandoned street kid, like him. Her short blond hair was pulled back into two ratty braids that hung limply over her small shoulders. The jeans that hung loosely from her skinny frame had holes in the knees and stains scattered across them. Her thin hooded gray sweater wasn't in much better condition, holes decorated the front and it was at least a few sizes too big for her. The only weather ready thing the girl wore were the pair of seemingly new boots that rested on her feet, the tops tightly tied in a bow.

The girl stared at him patiently, waiting for him to answer. "Magic," Riddick answered finally with a small smirk.

A scowl spread across the girl's face as she shook her head unconvinced. "Quinn said magic isn't real," she said seriously, a frown coming over her face. "Otherwise we'd be in nice big warm homes with our mommies and daddies and we'd always have food to eat."

"You don't have parents?" Riddick asked, though he was sure of the answer. No parents that lived on Kesor Nine would let their daughter walk around the way she was; it was too high a standard planet for that.

As he watched the girl shake her head and shiver in the cold, Riddick was unsurprised. "Me either," he admitted. As Riddick said the words, he wished he could take them back. He didn't want pity or sympathy from a girl at least four or five years younger than him. He was fine on his own, parents would only slow him down anyways.

The girl gave him a smile, not one of pity, but one that somewhat comforted him for some reason. It was that look that only a little kid could give. It was full of innocence and naive, but you still felt better despite the fact you knew the world was falling apart all around your fingertips. It was a look that you wanted with all your heart to believe in. Like for a few moments you were five years old and having only to worry about finger painting and girls with cooties. Not that Riddick had ever experienced either of those things, but as he saw the girl's smile, he was sure it was something like that.

"What's your name?" Riddick asked walking down the street and hoping the girl would follow him. The sounds of feet skipping on the pavement assured him that the little girl was in fact following him.

"Abigail," she answered, her words forming small puffs of air to be seen in the cold, "You can call me Abe though," Abe said quickly. Riddick noticed her small nose scrunched up in disgust, "Abigail is too...plain."

Riddick gave a chuckle but nodded his head in agreement, "Can't say that I know many girls with the name Abe."

She let a ring of laughter at that and Riddick was instantly reminded of the Christmas angels he had heard about from one of the women at the orphanages. The telling of stories was rare at the Home, but one of the younger women had taken pity on the kids and told them the story one night when the power had been cut by the electrical company. Paying bills on time had never been a strong suit of the Home. Or making sure that the children had enough to eat, but no one was trying to point out their faults.

Abe twirled around as she skipped down the sidewalk, a few steps in front of Riddick. He still had his hands crammed deep into his pockets in attempts to keep them warm, but Abe didn't seem to notice the cold as she danced around on the pavement with her hands flung in the air. A few adults passed them on the streets, some giving Abe looks of confusion while others walked far away from her, giving the girl a wide berth as they passed by.

About ten blocks from where they had started, Abe finally stopped her dancing and fell into step with Riddick. She gave him a long and hard sideways glance when she thought Riddick wasn't looking and stared frowned. Abe opened and closed her mouth a few times before suddenly blurting out her thoughts. "Can you really do magic? Like, _real_ magic?"

The look of pure hope that had taken over Abe's face and lit up her soft blue eyes were enough to break anyone's heart. Riddick gave a sigh and threw her a small smile. "I wish kid," he said truthfully, "I wish."


	2. Pixie Dust

**EDITED: 3/9/08**

**Chapter One**

**Pixie Dust**

Abe's eyebrows were scrunched together in concentration as she stared Riddick dead in the eyes. His light blue eyes stared back into hers unwaveringly. Both kids were tuning out the soft chanting of the crowd around them as they continued to hold each other's gaze. Tears were starting to form around the edges of Abe's eyes but she ignored them and held Riddick's gaze almost viciously. Or, as vicious as a seven year old could be.

She was unprepared when Riddick suddenly lashed out and snapped his fingers in front of her face. Abe fell back a bit onto her hands and blinked her eyes in surprise. Half of the kids encircling the staring contest cheered while others shook their heads and groaned before paying the cheering kids closet to them. Riddick gave a loud cheer of triumph and threw his hands into the air, high-fiving the closet kids to him. He turned back to a disgruntled Abe and stood up, a hand hanging in the air to help the younger girl up.

"You cheated," Abe announced a mix of surprise and disappointment laced her voice. She accepted Riddick's help and came to stand next to him, barely reaching his chest in height.

Riddick gave her a smile and knew she wasn't mad with him, simply pointing out his lack of respect towards rules. Why she was still surprised that he would cheat was beyond him. "I would've won even without cheating," he stated confidently.

Abe gave a soft laugh and shook her head in disagreement but said nothing. She never did.

In the two years since she had attached herself to Riddick's hip in the freezing cold weather of November, Abe had never once fought back with him. There were times that Riddick knew she wanted to, but Abe had never gone against anything he had said or done, even if it meant them spending another night in the correctional compounds or sleeping on the frozen ground of a park.

It was almost like she was afraid that if they ever had an argument, Abe thought that Riddick would leave her behind. Not that he would ever do that. Somehow over the past years the little girl had grown on him. And it was rather nice to a have a sidekick at times.

Though, it bothered Riddick how much the younger girl trusted him. He knew she had been hurt before, physically and emotionally. Every street kid was messed up in one way or another and even innocent Abe hadn't escaped it. But even after all of Riddick's mess ups and screwing up, Abe was always there beside him to be his own little light at the end of the tunnel. She was the annoying little sister at times, but also the one to catch the attention of passer-bys and the one who used her angelic smile to con money from nearly everyone. She was the little girl that everyone took pity on and most of the time the two street kids benefited from it.

As much as Riddick liked to think of himself as the one who helped keep them alive on the streets, Abe was the one who got the money for almost all the food they ate. Riddick wondered at times whether or not he would still be alive or what his life would've been if Abe hadn't stumbled into his life. Flashes of the bodies of street kids being hauled off in the early mornings by men with the huge van flooded his mind.

Every morning a black van with two white stripes running the length of the side could be seen cruising slowly down every street and checking each back alley. It hadn't taken very long for the authorities to get tired of dealing with the bodies of those formerly living on the streets. Black market dealers had jumped at the chance for free merchandise. Who knew when a rich man's nine year old daughter needed a new kidney and there was too long a waiting list at the hospital. With the new technology, an organ could be brought back to life within eighteen hours of the person's death. This made it gold for the dealers willing to have the fact of hundreds of children's lives on their conscious.

Not many minded.

The kids still living on the streets had soon learned that being with the body of a friend when the van arrived automatically meant you became fresh merchandise. As if the streets weren't dangerous enough already, without the help of people trying to sell their organs to the highest bidder.

Riddick was brought out of his thoughts about life without Abe as said girl cried out before laughing. She was a few feet in front of him, hand outstretched to a boy not much younger than Riddick was. Both kids were sprawled out on the concrete, a tangle of limbs.

"Sorry," Abe apologized with a smile.

The boy gave her an annoyed look before brushing off his already dirty pants and turned to walk away. Abe seemed a bit disappointed as he did but didn't complain as he rounded a corner. Riddick reached her just as the younger boy disappeared and he gave her a confused look.

Abe's face was lit up with joy as she did a small dance, similar to that of the Hokie Pokie. Riddick watched in amusement, though still puzzled at the girl's happiness for running into the other boy. He never remembered seeing him before, but wondered if somehow Abe knew him. But as Abe produced a thick leather wallet from within the depths of her coat pocket he realized Abe didn't know him at all.

"I learned magic!" she exclaimed happily.

Her blue eyes were shining from the thrill from her new found bounty and the idea of magic.

Despite the many times that Riddick had insisted that his pick pocketing skills were in fact _not_ magic, Abe had argued that it was. Anything that helped to get them food at night and new clothes when their old ones were worn through was considered magic to the seven year old. In fact, anything slightly good was golden in Abe's book.

"We should move," Riddick said quietly, looking around the sidewalk for anyone that could have witnessed the steal. Abe nodded happily and skipped off.

She grabbed Riddick's hand and pulled him across the street towards a park, not bothering to watch for traffic. Luckily they managed to avoid catastrophe and made it to the small park without injury. Abe plopped down on one of the benches and patted the spot beside her for Riddick. He glanced around them cautiously before sitting down lightly beside her.

"Watch it," he muttered when Abe happily bounced in her seat and jingled the loose change of the wallet. "Don't need attention."

Riddick raised an eyebrow in surprise at the contents of the wallet as a sheepish. Abe carefully up ended the money into her small lap. As Abe giddily counted the credits that had filled the leather bound wallet to the brim, Riddick searched through the many compartments of the wallet. The identification card that could be seen through the clear pocket it was kept in told Riddick that the boy Abe had stolen it from wasn't the actual owner. Most likely the boy had been another kid trying to get food.

Oh well, finders keepers was the law among thieves.

A squeal erupted from Abe as she jumped up from the bench and started to dance around the bench. "We're rich!" she sang loudly, not caring who around them heard. "We're rich! Rich, rich, rich!"

She continued to dance around, pulling up her jeans a few times as they started to fall but Abe didn't seem to mind. A look of happiness had taken over her small face and her eyes shown bright. Riddick didn't bother to ask how much she had stolen but instead counted to money that had fallen into her abandoned seat curiously. He was shocked to find that the wallet had carried nearly two hundred credits, enough to feed them for almost a month and then some.

Abe seemed to notice the shocked expression on his face and ran over to him giggling. "Told you it was magic!" she yelled, throwing her hands in the air while spinning around. "I told you!"

Riddick gave a wide grin and he nodded his head in agreement. "I guess it was."

"It was, it was, it was!" Abe was still yelling and dancing around the bench in a nearly deserted park.

Anyone who would have seen them in that moment would have wondered what the hell was wrong with them. Two kids, one not older than at least twelve and a little girl who couldn't be older than seven, dancing and yelling in the middle a park, no parents in sight. The amount of credits that was piled beside them on the bench would have set off red flags in their minds and authorities would be alerted.

As Riddick noticed a mad dressed in blue, a stun gun at his side, and a bright badge pinned firmly on his chest making his way towards them, he realized that was exactly what had happened. The moment was broken as he shoved the credits into his coat pocket and grabbed Abe's hand before he started running towards the edge of the park.

"Riddick!" she screeched, confused by his sudden change of mood.

But as the cop started jogging towards them and Abe saw him she tightened her grip on Riddick's hand and quickly began to run. The two made their way into the busier part of the street, where Riddick was hoping to be lost in the crowd. When he looked back however, he saw the cop running not far behind them, pushing people out of the way to gain more distance on the running kids.

He took a hard right corner on to another street, pulling Abe behind him like a rag doll. Her feet were flying over the pavement as quickly as she possibly could but Riddick was running faster still. There were a few times when the only thing that kept Abe from falling was the death grip she had on Riddick's hand. Abe sped of even more at the sounds of the man yelling behind them, blowing the whistle that hung around his neck loudly.

The two finally stopped running in a darker part of town with fewer people but Riddick had them hiding behind a fairly huge dumpster. Abe sat onto the ground without a second thought, panting hard from their run. Riddick sank down beside her while keeping an eye on the opening of the alley in case the officer had followed them.

Abe gave a snort followed by a series of giggles. Riddick looked back at her confused as he gave up his look out for the cop. "What's so funny?" he demanded not unkindly.

Abe just shook her head, her body shaking with laughter. Her face was red from the lack of air she was getting but she didn't seem to mind. Riddick watched for a few dozen seconds until she got a hold of herself and let out a little sigh.

"Peter Pan never had this much trouble with magic," she explained, a twinkle still evident in her eyes. "I bet it was because Tinkerbell was the one who was the magical one," Abe threw him a grin, "We girls are always **much** better with power."

Riddick let out a laugh. "Right."

A few months before he had found a tattered copy of an old Ancient Earth story called Peter Pan. Abe had learned to read from her older brother before she even met Riddick and was ecstatic to finally have something new to read. It hadn't taken her long to read the book and memorize it to the page. He realized only too late that it only fueled Abe's longing for a world she would never see. A place filled with magic wasn't going to ever be real in the universe they lived in.

"You with all the power?" Riddick questioned an amused look on his young face. "I'm scared for my life. Really, I truly am. Quaking in my boots, if you shut your mother for a second, you'd hear my teeth chattering."

Hurt flashed in Abe's eyes so quick that Riddick almost missed it before her face lit up again with determination, "I'm going to find Neverland. Just you wait. Me and Peter will rule the Lost Boys and Tink will help me to fly. You just wait Richard Benjamin Riddick. You'll see. And when you do, you'll wish you'd be nicer to me so that I could make you fly too."

Riddick shrugged his shoulders but didn't disagree. There was no reason for him to fight a losing battle. Abe couldn't be convinced when she was in a mood like now. As angelic as she seemed, Abe was surprising stubborn, unwilling to relent for anything. "You're not gonna take me with you?"

Abe eyed him up before rubbing her thumb on her chin thoughtfully, "I suppose I can take you too. But only if you admit that magic is real."

"Oh, thanks Abe," Riddick said sarcastically. He pulled her into a choke hold, giving the now laughing girl a noogie on her blond head. "I love you too."

The younger girl giggled and slapped him on the arm lightly. "Never said I didn't love you, you goof ball. Just said you had to believe in magic to come with me!" She gave him a 'duhh' look before lifting up his arm and snuggling up against him. He wiggled around against the cold metal of the dumpster before settling next to Abe.

"Just a little bit of trust," Abe muttered softly before she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep.

Riddick glanced down at her before resting his head against the brick wall behind him. "An pixie dust. I know kid."

**--Reviews are like heroine, feed the addiction.**


	3. Misconceptions

Summary: I knew him before he was a cold hearted bastard

**EDITED: 5/18/08**

**Chapter Two**

**Misconceptions**

The cell echoed with emptiness as Abe paced around the four by six foot concrete slab impatiently. Her once long blond hair was now short and pulled back into a stubby pony tail carelessly. In the five years that Abe had known Richard B. Riddick, her angelic blue eyes had slowly begun to harden with the impact of the real world that had at one time been unknown to her.

She'd finally awoken from her childish fantasies and starting living in the world of hard, unwanted truths.

Life was no longer filled with magic to Abe as she stood waiting for her sentence to be told. The truth that Riddick had been trying to tell her since the first time Abe had met him was finally becoming clear. He hadn't been lying when he had told her that he didn't know magic. Because there wasn't magic in the real world, at least not one Abe had been able to find. Magic didn't exist in the world that Abe was living through. It had just been the imagination of an over active five year old, and nothing more.

Abe sourly admitted to herself that all the years that magic had seemed real, Riddick must have thought of her as a stupid, clueless child. Granted, she was five years younger than him and only eleven years old, but she should have been smarter than to put her complete and utter trust in something that wasn't even _real_. Everyone else but her had seemed to know that nothing like magic ever existed. Abe had lived on the streets long enough to know it was all make believe, she should have known.

But deep down, she hadn't wanted to know.

Magic had always made the world seem... better. Like it was actually somewhere that Abe could live and not want more. A place where violence wasn't on every corner and there was always someone there to calm her fears. To not want the comfort of going home to loving parents, a warm bed, the guarantee of food every morning and night. With magic, she didn't need any of that. All she had needed was the belief in something better, and Riddick.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

That was all over now. Riddick was gone, probably thanking some higher being that after five years, he had finally rid himself of the girl who had followed him around like a lost puppy, and refused to grow up. He was finally free, while Abe was locked away.

The illusion of magic had been broken and there was nothing left for her.

With a groan she threw herself onto the stiff mattress in the corner. No ideas of escape were coming to her, no epiphany of great knowledge was overbearing on her mind, and as far as Abe could tell, she was stuck in the compound until morning. Not the thing she had been going for.

--

Abe rubbed her raw wrists where the hand cuffs had bit into them harshly. She covered her eyes against the bright light of the sun overhead and started on her way back into the heart of the city. A plan had yet to be formed, but Abe was sure that Riddick would have nothing to do with her after this. She figured that leaving the city would be a good idea; Riddick had allies throughout the city. Allies that had once been Abe's as well.

There was a good chance that some still would be willing to take her in. Johnnie-O had always liked her and his younger brother Dane was around her age. However, they were close with Hamnet Green's group, who hadn't gotten along with Abe since the fight with one of their girls last month. Abe didn't want to force Johnnie-O into having to close between allies and she had a sinking suspicion who would win if it came down to it. Sometimes you had to pick the stronger of two people, and Hamnet Green could easy kick Abe's ass, along with many others.

Johnnie-O was out.

As Abe wandered aimlessly around Anser, trying to come up with a half way plausible plan, she kept coming back to one problem. All of her belongings were still back at the warehouse. If she wasn't flat out broke and in desperate need of a change of clothes, Abe wouldn't go back for a million credits. She was almost certain that Riddick would be there, along with some of the others that had joined their little 'family' in the past few years. That would mean that a confrontation of some sort would happen for sure.

A meeting with Riddick and Damian was the last thing she wanted, period.

Damian had been the first to join up with Riddick and Abe almost three years ago. He'd been kicked out of his drunken stepfather's house and forced to live on the streets for the past six months. In the beginning, Riddick had despised Damian with a slightly passionate hatred. They constantly were getting into fights with Riddick always coming out on top. However, this didn't stop Damian from mouthing off to him whenever the opportunity presented itself. Finally, one day Riddick got his ass handed to him by the only slightly younger boy, and in an instant, Damian was one of them. He'd hung around with Riddick and Abe ever since, and over the years of life on the streets, was nearly as hard as Riddick himself. But he still managed to save time to get Abe a new book when she'd finished the last one.

Though, no matter how much Damian loved Abe as a younger sister, Riddick came first.

Abe glanced down at the tattered, over sized hand-me-down sweater that had once been Mark's and ripped jeans that had once been Jayne's. Both articles of clothing were nearing the end of their lives and wouldn't hold out much longer. Not to mention her red tank top wasn't in much better shape having been torn in her attempted flight from the authorities. A failed flight which had landed here in her current debating.

Damn cops.

With a sigh Abe turned left at the next corner and started in the direction of the abandoned warehouse she had once called home, praying that by some amazing power it would be empty of all human beings. Her eye was already swollen from the punch thrown by a green officer and she had fallen hard onto her knee trying to escape. Abe didn't have any longing to be beaten again any time soon.

--

The rusted door groaned in protest as Abe forced it open, just wide enough for her to squeeze through. She glanced around the large open space of the warehouse as she pushed the twenty five foot high sliding door shut. Surprise filled her as Abe realized that the room looked empty. She walked cautiously farther into the imposingly empty room, unsure if it was truly void of all the living except for her. It was.

The dirty blankets that had been gathered from different places around the city were still dumped in the middle of the room, used as makeshift beds. There were five 'beds' in one group and another two a few feet away, secluded from the others. Abe was surprised as she walked past the other five beds to where her things were still in place beside Riddick's.

Everything was just as she had left it three days ago. Clothes were strewn around carelessly, mixing in with her blankets to make it warmer during the night. Her old duffel bag was most likely hidden beneath the piles of blankets too. There was a up-turned milk crate that held random, pointless knick knacks that Abe had collected over the years. A few credits, a necklace, playing cards, and her old copy of Peter Pan, among other things. Nothing had been touched.

For some reason she had figured he had thrown all of her things onto the streets in attempts to erase all memories of her. However, Abe was thankful he hadn't, it made things much easier this way. She quickly set to gathering her things, planning to get out of the warehouse before anyone came back. As Abe had guessed, her duffel was with the rest of her things, buried beneath all her blankets and clothes. Once freeing it, Abe threw all the clothes within reach into the bag, not even filling the bag completely before she realized all of her clothes were packed. Into the extra room went the things stacked on the crate.

As her hand brushed against the copy of Peter Pan, Abe hesitated before leaving the book lying on the crate. It was his anyway.

She slung the still light duffel bag over her shoulder and stood up from the place that had once served as her safe haven during the night. The one place where monsters did come to roam, because he was there. Abe looked around the dark room one last time, remembering the memories that had been formed while staying in the warehouse, before turning and heading for the enormous metal door. Absentmindedly, she brushed away a lone tear that sped down her cheek. Using both hands to open the rusty door one last time, Abe stopped short half way over the threshold in shock.

Riddick stood half way down the side street that passed by the warehouse, a surprised look on his face.

--

Quickly, she judged the distance between herself and Riddick, debating whether or not she had a good chance of making it if she ran for it. Riddick was fast, but bulky now that he used some of his spare time to work out. Though Abe wasn't quite fast enough to beat him in a race, she was smaller and could easily weave through a crowded street better than he could. Noting the look on her once friend, Abe used it to her advantage and took off running in the opposite direction down the street from Riddick.

The street that the warehouse Riddick had found almost two years ago was hardly used, simply a side street only one over from the main road. If Abe could make it three blocks down and one block up, she could maybe lose herself in the crowd. _Maybe_. Probably not, but there was always the mild hope.

She didn't have to look back to know Riddick was following close behind. His boots were loud in the empty street and Abe's own feet echoed faster down the street that his. Just as the street Abe needed to turn onto came into view, she found herself flying threw the air and landing harshly onto the hot pavement. Her chin bounced off the street and jarred her teeth while she bit her tongue and tasted blood. The duffel full of Abe's belongings landed with a soft thud a few feet in front of her and lay still in the sunlight.

Abe didn't have more than a few seconds to comprehend what had happened before Riddick grabbed her under the arm and hauled her to her feet, dragging her into an alley about a dozen feet from where she had landed. He pushed her up against the wall and Abe let out a faint "oomph" as her back came in contact with the hard brick.

Apparently he'd caught up to her.

"What the fucking hell is your problem?" Riddick demanded, not seeming to notice her pain in the slightest. "Do you know what the hell you put us all through?"

Abe winced at the volume of his low voice, closing her eyes briefly before Riddick rattled her back to focusing onto the older boy, "Danny nearly had a heart attack! She was about to go down and bust your ass out! She's already on probation, Abe!" his blue eyes were filled with fury and Abe found herself unable to meet his gaze. "Do you know what would happen to her if she got caught and they locked her up? Do you?"

Her head snapped up, nearly colliding with Riddick's chin, as she understood what she had just heard. "Bust me out?" she asked, completely thrown by his ranting. "Why?"

Riddick gave her a completely confused look, not understanding what she meant. "Why the hell do you think?"

Abe shrugged and looked away. "Aren't you mad?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Now Abe was confused, this wasn't what she was expecting at all. "I fucked up. I mean, I got caught beating up a rich kid, some politician's son," she glanced up Riddick to see he was still looking at her confused, "You said if I got arrested again I was out," Abe said softly, looking back at the ground which had suddenly become amazingly interesting.

Riddick gave a laugh as he released his hold on the younger girl, throwing her amused looks. "I wasn't being serious, Abe," he said, still laughing at the expense of her, "Don't think you can get rid of me that easily. All you did was beat up some punk rich kid, nothing to be proud of."

Abe was about to open her mouth to defend herself, but stopped herself at seeing Riddick's smiling face. Her face grew red as she realized her mistake and how stupid she had been acting. She should have known that Riddick wouldn't throw her out after all they'd been through together. Shaking her head, Abe turned back to a smirking Riddick. "I was being kinda stupid," she questioned, "wasn't I?"

Riddick nodded his head, short brown curls bouncing, as he threw an arm over Abe's shoulder, "Just a bit," he agreed, "But I forgive you."

Reaching down, Abe picked up her duffel as they walked back down the street towards the warehouse. Riddick stopped just before he opened the door and looked at her seriously, "If you ever try to leave again," he warned, "I will hunt you down and drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to. You got that?"

"Yeah," Abe said, meaning it full heartedly but grinning slyly, "But I don't think you'll have to worry about it. You'd fall apart without me, and I'd feel bad for leaving Danny to deal with four guys."

Riddick looked offended as Abe pulled open the very door she thought she'd never open again and passed by him, "We aren't that bad!" he defended.

"Sure you aren't!" Abe said, laughing as Riddick followed behind her.

"Why did I stop you from leaving?" Riddick asked rhetorically, not at all serious.

Knowing he wasn't looking for an answer, Abe answered anyways. "'Cause you love me."

"Only a little bit."

--

**Oh look, I updated.**


End file.
